Keepin 'It Real

This past year Illusion's Keepin’ It Real was performed for 800 Minneapolis Public School students. All the frankness, fun and failure that happens in high school comes out in this interactive performance piece built from stories of older teens who tell their truths to younger teens— so the new teens entering high school can avoid some of the pitfalls the older students experienced. Over the course of the performance the teen audience gets to interact and discuss how they would act if they were in the situation, deepening the impact and long-term benefits of the work.

So many rumors going around and aroundGossip and Lies at the speed of soundHe said,She saidThey said?Who Said?Hey! I’m in no mood to fool around.My head’s in the sky and my feet on the ground. ‘cuz what goes around, comes around! HA!

— from "It's Just Too Much" song in Keepin' it Real.

For more information about Illusion's production of Keepin 'It Real contact Kathy Anlauf.

At a family event, eight sisters began to talk and realized that between the 1950s’ and the 1970s’ they were victims of sexual assault. The sisters had not told anyone about the abuse. Once these secrets came out, the sisters decided to bring sexual abuse awareness to their community, and they used the Illusion Theater to make that happen. Read more...

Check out this article about how resourceful artists are at making a living by profiling, with both Dane Stauffer and Steve Hendrickson. Dane is shown here as he works with a Patrick Henry class which is a part of a long term Illusion School Partnership, and then he travels to Blue Earth, Minnesota to train an Illusion Peer Education Touch Troupe. Steve is appearing in Miranda on Illusion's Main Stage, but he has a business producing audio books including two Jeffrey Hatcher works that Illusion developed and premiered - Three Viewings and Murderers.